Welcome to Gaia! ::

He stared wide-eyed, his mouth open in a silent 'o' of shock as he stared around the marketplace. He was sure he would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't all made by magic, but damn it looked good.

"You win again magic, you little bas-" He cut off his curse, he was supposed to say anything that might get him into trouble tonight. After all, he had been given a warm bath (against his will), new clothes (against his will), even though he was technically just stalking them on their little creepy quest (against their will)

Throwing his hands up into defeat, following the whispering pair of The Leader and The New Guy and the odd pair of Teleporter and Healing Girl.

"Its like everyone else who followed us on this trip has magically disappeared..." he grumbled to himself, sighing as he kept his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. What was the point of having awesome thieving skills if you had 4 travelers around with who knew magic and a village of angry elf people who also knew magic who would probably fry his a** with spells.

"I still haven't found a way to beat magic with just street skills..."

Taking a seat at the free table the Leader had chosen and allowing the couples to sit next to one another and start their little chats, he questioned out loud without looking away from the lights, hands behind his head now, where they could see them, something about the food.

"Do they have Lembas bread here or am I just pronouncing it wrong?"

Blade turned to look over at Doina as the girl started talking. Then a loud rumble erupted from Doina's stomach, and Blade knew that if she could hear it then all of the elves here definitely could. She brought her hand up to hide her mouth as she chuckled, somewhat sorry for the poor girl. She should've given something the musician something to eat earlier. Of course, Blade hadn't known that Doina had been so hungry. She reached out and patted Doina's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"What bread...?" Blade repeated, blinking at Falconer as he said something about some... bread. "Never heard of it, squirt. But I'm sure that they'll have food. And you'll need some of that food with your boney little butt.

"" Blade looked back at the singer and smiled almost teasingly at her. "pretty. Not because you're a foreigner. Well, some of them at least....>" She chuckled before reclining back into her seat, her hands folded politely on her lap. She lifted her gaze up briefly to the lights, silently admiring them. Then she felt someone grab her shoulder, making her turn her head. However, there was no one there. She frowned to herself before narrowing her eyes to peer past the crowd. There, standing in the snow, was a white-cloaked figure. As soon as she saw them she faced front again. ''

"Sorry, but I just remembered something." Blade told the others, smiling apologetically before standing up. "Save me some food if I come back in time, Doina?" She patted Doina's shoulder and then walked away, weaving to the tables and stepping back into the snow. It crunched softly underneath her feet and her eyes scanned slowly for the being she'd seen earlier. She walked farther away from the sounds of the party and until it was out of sight. Two or so minutes passed and she heard a soft whisper from an alleyway. Blade stopped, turned, and headed down the alley in which she had heard the voice. Then, the white robbed figure wafted up from the snow. A pale hand reached out for her and Blade grabbed it, sucking in cold air through her teeth as vertigo slammed itself into her.

Minutes later, after passing through a mixture of shadows and light, the scene dissolved. Blade landed gingerly on the ground and took a few seconds to steady herself before turning around. The hand that was holding hers squeezed hers gently before reaching up and pulling down their hood.

"Laquemil!" She laughed and practically threw herself on him, getting a grunt and a soft chuckling snort in response.

"Feritae," he responded warmly as he gently patted her back. She pulled away and then turned to look at the grassy plain he'd brought her to.

"" Feritae whispered as she looked up at the stars, a smile playing on her features. Laquemil nudged her softly and she looked back at him before walking after him as he started moving. ""

"" He answered while consolingly patting her back. ""

"" Feritae laughed and folded her hands behind her back, her veil floating gently as a soft breeze passed by. These climates were definitely better than the mountains. ""

""

""

Laquemil chuckled before lifting his hand up for her to take. She did so, humming to herself while her free hand latched onto the side of her dress. ""

"" He answered, his tone sounding almost irritated. ""

"" Feritae shrugged and made a light sigh before reaching up to check the pins that were holding her veil in place. ""

"" He squeezed her hand before stopping and sitting down. She followed in suit, looking at him as he reached out and started to fiddle with her veil.

""

"" he muttered in response, not pausing in his obsessive duties. "" Feritae blinked, resisting in tilting her head else facing his wrath. "" He took in a deep breath and released it, withdrawing his hands from her hair. ""

"" She brought her hand up and rested them gently against her lips. ""

""

She looked at him more directly, her vivid sapphire eyes meeting his sharp silver ones. "<...Laquemil?>"

Seraphis nodded thoughtfully at what Silver had said. Things were finally starting to make a lot more sense. Silver’s past was, indeed, a troubled one, but he was glad to be the one to stand beside her as she sorted it all out. He took his seat between Silver and the mage, Green Raven. He placed a comforting hand on Silver’s arm and smiled.

“I think you can trust Fal to do what’s best for Fal, right?” he said softly, “I don’t know the man, myself, but he seems to have kept his head for this long. He’s bound to be doing something right.” Seraphis then removed his hand from Silver’s arm, deciding to leave her to her thoughts. Then he suddenly felt a surge of magical energy from an unidentifiable source. It seemed to be coming from all around! What was happening? Had the Wind Spawn come? His muscles snapped taut and he was nearly ready to jump out of his seat when food suddenly appeared before him! His look of worry was replaced with a look of delight. Most magicians that he knew of would have frowned on such a frivolous use of magic, but Seraphis couldn’t help but try to hold in his excitement. He was truly fascinated by everything these elves did with their magic and he hungered for their knowledge.

The only thing surpassing that hunger right now was his hunger for food. Everything looked so delicious, especially after weeks of living off of dried rations. Part of him wanted to ravenously dig in, but he did not forget where he was. He ate his food slowly, savoring each bite as this was another luxury he probably would not enjoy for a while more. He took a small sip of his wine, thoroughly enjoying the flavor as he lightly swished the red liquid in his mouth. Swallowing, he made a mental note to purchase a skein full if he had the chance before they left town. He turned to the mage and began to make idle conversation about the fairy lights, determined to learn more about them. However, he couldn’t help but steal an occasional glance at Silver every now and then. Every time he looked into her eyes, he couldn’t help but think of how lucky he was to be sitting here next to her. Though Seraphis wasn't an overly religious man, he gave silent thanks to whatever gods might be listening for, in having her friendship, he felt truly blessed.

Leon was relieved as Blade took the reins, as it were, and led them to a table. He sat down next to her and simply smiled, not sure what he was supposed to do. He kept the facade up even though the glares were becoming more and more frequent. He looked up as Blade stood. He nodded in acknowledgment. The albino she had mentioned must have shown up to her, so he let her go.Besides, if anything were to happen, Leon knew that Blade could take care of anything short of a spawn. The thought, however, did not keep him from worrying about her slightly.

As Doina's stomach rumbled, Leon realized that he was not all that hungry. Thanks to his goat like stomach, Leon was able to digest almost anything, even thin metal. On the way he had eaten a few small branches and more grass as they walked, and that filled his stomach so he had no need to eat for another day or two. It made him sigh. Then his mind was smashed back into the present as food appeared on all of their plates. Oh, great... meat... Leon had no taste for meat. He could eat it, but every time he did he felt as though he had devoured another of his kind, even when it came to fish. He sighed again as he picked around the meat and ate the starches and the greens. He figured that he would just give his portion of meat to Blade when she returned.

His attention was diverted to Doina as she spoke t him. He nodded slowly. "I have had several vintages of elf wine, dwarf ale, ork and goblin whisky, human beer, ferriles sake, darisae bourbon, and several vintages of all of them, and have yet to find an alcohol so full and flavorful as the ibixian spirits." he said before taking a sip of the wine that has in his glass. "Though I must admit, this wine isn't bad. The way it was transported, however, left a certain after taste that is slightly displeasing to the tung and tingles at the teeth." Leon then blushed as he set his glass down. "I'm sorry, I'm something of an official of liquors and the like. It's a hobby of mine." he said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

As if on cue, as soon as she had finished her meal, Lady Silver kissed her husband good-night and left, complaining of a headache. Silver and White Cardinal shared amused glances, sure they were part of the source of that headache. Once she had left, the elven priestess took a sip of her wine and asked her friend, "Where all have you been these last seven years? You didn't visit at all during your last visit... In fact, you didn't really say anything."

"Wit, you know why..." Silver pointed out. "And I don't remember all the places I've been, it's not like I think of that sort of thing when I travel." Okay, that was a lie. Silver remembered everywhere she had been. Problem was, some of those places weren't necessarily safe, and she had always been there dealing with problems, not sight seeing. Explaining that to Wit, however, would be like explaining the job of a tavern witch to a young noble maiden. "What about you? You never struck me as overly religious..."

"I wasn't." Wit shrugged, and laughed, "But I was the only one who knew all the duties when the last Cardinal passed away a couple of years ago."

"I'm not surprised..." Silver drawled, picking apart a dinner roll absentmindedly. "What news here, besides that?"

"Well, I'm sure Rob told you about Black Crow becoming a Hawk. Really Silver, it isn't right. You've always danced circles around him, pardon the expression. You should ask Fal to give you a trial to become a Hawk. You weren't meant to be a Lark, at all." The one thing Silver loved about Wit was her blunt honesty. She didn't hold back for anyone, which meant she had to be a member of the council just to keep out of trouble. The elf continued, "Otherwise, little ever happens here, you know that. The only big stir up is the fact the merchants are late this year."

A frown tugged at Silver's mouth, but she said lightly, "Rob mentioned that. Only a week or so, right?"

Wit shook her head, "More like two weeks! What's worse, Gray Sparrow is with them, so we know they aren't lost." Gray Sparrow was another member of the council, one currently missing, who was a fur merchant normally. "He left to check on his wife's cousin, and was suppose to accompany this train back. The trouble is, the Ravens predict that the passes will all be closed by the quarter-moon, and this train holds all our winter supplies." Both elves glanced over at the rising crescent moon, already almost at the quarter, minus a couple of nights or so.

Her worry was easily understood. Without those supplies, the village would be hard pressed for food that winter, even with the emergency stores kept in the temple for hard times like these. And being short a council member gave the opportunity for the village's lawmakers to be caught in a tie. With an experienced merchant such as Gray Sparrow with them, the train shouldn't be this late. Silver's mind immediately went to the wind spawn, the very reason they had come this way. They had skipped most of the road coming into the village, so the carnage could be... No. The guards would have noticed that, or surely a Hawk...

A very bad thought crossed Silver's mind. "Wit," she tried to ask casually, "Who is the Hawk in charge guards of the checkpoints? Is it still Azure?" Azure Hawk was one of the three Hawks, counting Black, and Fal's younger brother.

"No. Fal moved him to village upkeeping, seeing as he married last year. Black Hawk is now there. Why?" Silver's mouth was pressed into a hard, thin line and her eyes were narrowed, a face she made only when angry. "Whatever is, don't say it till tomorrow. Corner Fal and ask to meet with the entire council tomorrow at some time. Don't ruin his birthday." Silver silently nodded in agreement, sighing and sipping her own wine, despite her better judgement. Tomorrow was definitely shaping up to be unpleasant...

With his wife gone, Fal turned his attention to the two young males beside him. Once sure the two females were caught up exchanging news, he asked Seraphis, "Pardon the intrusion, but Master Darkstar, you and Silver seem rather close." His words were warm and friendly, but his eyes held an appraising quality to them. "How long have you known her, and how close are you two? I only ask because Silver has been a favorite student of mine for sometime, and I would rather her not be led around by a more... experienced man, such as yourself, who is looking for some entertainment." His tone implied exactly what kind of entertainment he meant, even as it warned Seraphis away from even thinking such thoughts about Silver.

As Silver and Wit continued to chat, Fal watched her for a moment before answering Seraphis. "She fears love, as I'm sure you know, because of the way things worked out of her parents. However, I think Silver has learned that she isn't her mother, and perhaps won't suffer the same fate. But while her mother was far from ideal, Silver loved her and was the very image of a devoted daughter, despite... Well, that perhaps isn't something you know about." He eyed the half-elf, decided he liked this mage well enough, then asked, "Has Silver ever told you what is wrong with her leg, or why she became caught in her childhood body, unable to age for quite some time?" The kindness Fal exuded had returned once assured Seraphis wasn't triffling with Silver's heart for fun. Meanwhile, the bonfire was beginning to be lit as others finished their meals; the older generations were returning to their homes as the young prepared to truly celebrate.

Blade rose slowly from the snow, shivering slightly. She turned her head around, looking around at the frost covered buildings. She stood up, swaying on her feet and leaning against a wall to support herself. Laquemil was nowhere to be seen, although this did little to surprise her. She pushed off of it, blinking wearily around the area. As much as she loved to see him, his form of transportation wore her out. Regardless, she'd do it countless times if only to see him for a little bit longer. She looked up at the sky, blinking as a snowflake landed on one of her eyelashes.

She took a step forward, feet crunching lightly in the snow. It took a few seconds but soon she was back to her usual self. She stretched, rubbing her stomach. Oi, she was really hungry. But unfortunately, she didn't have any time to wait. She stilled herself, eyes locked upward to the skies. She frowned to herself before glancing around, bristling as the wind around her stirred. ''

Blade could recall that Grenth had left his weapons at the house... or something around that fact, so instead of heading back to the festival she made a bee-line for Silver's house. It took a while for her to find the damned thing but she wasted no time in kicking the door open. She grabbed what had been left near the door and then began to sprint back, hoping she could make it in time. She did, in fact, and lowered the three swords she'd been carrying. She walked as casually as she possibly could back over to the table, although there were a couple of people staring at her. She stopped once she was beside Grenth and dropped his swords onto his lap.

"Get up."